Interesting post, Sandra. And I must admit that I didn't realize Cold
Spot was part of a series until I finished it, so I read it as a
standalone. As you note, that's a different reading experience. Still,
I'm looking forward the next. It will be interesting to see if Chase's
future motivations will be believeable. The unresolved revenge issue
will only go so far, and will start seeming really contrived if it's
raised but left hanging in book after book.
You also raise interesting points about series in general. Those issues
really come up in terms of Bruen's Jack Taylor series. How do you keep
a character like that right on the edge, screwed but still functioning,
book after book? It takes quite a balancing act.
Series that revolve around jobs (or careers) don't have to get over this
issue. A cop like Rebus will have another case, even a PI (though that
adds some credibility issues when they get involved with murders,
perhaps why fictional PIs seem more and more to specialize in missing
persons cases, or bodyguarding, which often lead to murders they're
supposed to butt out of, but never do). A career criminal like Parker
will pull another caper.
Mark
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 09 Jan 2009 EST